“122 million customers, none of them in line.” The slogan perfectly captures the meaning of the company's business. Nubank, the Brazilian fintech founded in 2013 and still led by a Colombian, David velez, and in just a few years has become the leading digital payment services company in Latin America, with over 100 million customers in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. None of them are waiting in line because the services offered by Nubank (digital account, credit card, and loans) are available entirely and exclusively through the app: no branches, also because Nubank is not even technically a bank and would like to become one soon with another transaction that would confirm its rapid and solid growth. Velez, who is also the largest shareholder, would like to acquire a bank to register with the Brazilian Central Bank and obtain an operating license as a traditional banking institution.
Since 2021, Nubank has been listed on the NYSE and has even convinced Warren Buffett
On the market, however, Nubank certainly does not need further recognition: the first fintech outside Asia in terms of number of customers (the zero-cost policy has also allowed 20 million Brazilians to access a bank account for the first time), since 2021 in addition to being listed on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange It is listed on the NYSE in New York, where it continues to impress investors, having risen from $3,47 per share in 2022 to the current $14,16. In the last month alone, the shares have gained 12,3%, and now the board has announced that Nubank will soon leave the Brazilian Bovespa index to focus solely on the U.S. stock market.
In the US, the Brazilian fintech, thanks to its more than solid results (in the second quarter of 2025 it exceeded analysts' expectations with net profit of 637 million dollars, +34%), has already been gained the esteem of the financial world: it is in the list of the 100 most influential companies on the planet according to Time and in that of the best banks drawn up by Forbes, but above all it has attracted the attention of an old fox, a huge piece of the business world like Warren BuffetThe Oracle of Omaha, as he is known in the industry, is no stranger to operations outside the United States (in Italy, for example, he had bet on Cattolica Assicurazioni) and had thus invested in approximately 40 million shares of Nubank.
Now at the venerable age of 94 he has announced that he will leave the leadership of Berkshire Hathaway, and for this reason in the last few months the holding has decided to diversify its portfolio and to sell off several holdings, including the one in Nubank of which it sold 100% of the shares for a value at the sale – which took place last May – of 416 million dollars, but also those at Citigroup and Bank of America. Buffett's departure doesn't change the ambitions one bit: the North Star remains the US, with the goal of becoming one of the world's leading digital banks, focusing without hesitation on artificial intelligence.
Goals: International expansion, Artificial Intelligence and cryptocurrencies
To accelerate international expansion, in recent months there have been important changes in the board: in July, none other than the former president of the Brazilian Central Bank Roberto Campos Neto (appointed in 2018 by then-President Jair Bolsonaro), who will be invaluable in boosting public relations and navigating the regulatory jungle, and also in giving Nubank—still perceived as a successful startup—greater institutional recognition. To accelerate its tech efforts, a big name, American, arrived in August as the new Chief Technology Officer. Eric Young, former Google and Amazon.
Not only that: CEO Velez is convinced, and not without reason, that under the Donald Trump administration Washington will be increasingly favorable to the fintech world, particularly cryptocurrencies, which are also on Nubank's radar. Indeed, Nubank believes in them so strongly, that it offers its clients a portfolio of 25 virtual currencies, from Bitcoin on down, and has just launched Brazil's first Bitcoin futures ETF, in partnership with Nasdaq. "With Trump's policies," Velez said at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, "fintech and cryptocurrencies are back in fashion. When a government suddenly sees fintech as a benefit for consumers and greater competition, the market becomes more attractive."
New Headquarters: US or UK?
In fact, the tycoon is so in favor that he invested in it himself, also entering into a clear conflict of interest with the Crypto operation. This could therefore be the right time to attack the US market and perhaps open a Nubank office in the States. We'll talk about it again, even if for now it seems... entry into the UK more likely, to also cast an eye on the European market, currently considered less attractive. The Brazilian digital bank, which is actually legally domiciled in the Cayman Islands, already has a European office in Berlin. And then there's the rest of the world, other emerging markets with the same characteristics as Mexico and Brazil: last December, Nubank invested $150 million in fintech Tyme Group, based in Singapore with clients in South Africa and the Philippines.
